There was no guarantee that Andrew Quarless would survive cutdown day last summer.

For the Green Bay Packers’ sake, it’s a good thing he did.

The 6-foot-4, 252-pound tight end earned back his roster spot after missing the 2012 season with a gruesome knee injury. He wound up playing more snaps than any other Packers’ tight end last season.

When Jermichael Finley was lost for the season with a neck injury in October, Quarless called himself a “safety valve” for the chorus of backup quarterbacks the team turned to in the wake of Aaron Rodgers’ broken collarbone.

Both Quarless and Finley are unrestricted free agents this offseason with the jury still out on Finley’s future as he rehabs from cervical fusion of his C-3 and C-4 vertebrae.

If the Packers keep the same conservative approach they took with Nick Collins, the team could be in the market for a new starting tight end.

Quarless, playing in all 16 games for the first time in his career, set new career highs of 32 catches for 312 yards and two touchdowns. However, he’s still not a finished project.

“I think that he’s got a ways to go. He’s got more in the tank,” Packers tight ends coach Jerry Fontenot said last month. “We’ve talked about that during the season. There were certain aspects of the run-blocking that we need to improve that, and I felt like he made strides in that area. Just being more consistent was the biggest challenge. I think that overall, his body strength is not where it was before he got injured – at least that’s my observation.”

One interesting takeaway from Quarless’ season is the stark contrast between his production when Rodgers was at quarterback as opposed to Seneca Wallace, Matt Flynn and Scott Tolzien.

Only eight of Quarless’ 32 catches came on passes from Rodgers for a total of 72 yards in eight games. Granted, Finley was healthy for the first six games. Working with Rodgers' backups, Quarless had 24 receptions for 240 yards and two touchdowns.

The Packers will have to gauge Quarless' value on the market and decide whether he’d be worth another investment. They have three tight ends under contract for this season -- Brandon Bostick, Ryan Taylor and Jake Stoneburner -- but none are as well-rounded as Quarless or Finley.

Quarless is healthy, though. The Penn State alumnus stayed on the field all season outside of a quadriceps injury during training camp and showed the knee injury is behind him.

“I definitely think I proved a couple things this year,” Quarless said. “Just going back to my team though, we all were just fighting. I’m proud of everybody.”

Editor's note: Prior to the start of the new league year in March, Press-Gazette Media is counting down the top 20 unrestricted, restricted and exclusive right free agents the Green Bay Packers will have to decide on this offseason.